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Sisters of the Precious Blood

Volume 2, Issue 11, October 2017

Please consider saving paper, ink and the environment —print only if necessary.

We have eliminated much of the heavy color areas to minimize the use of colored ink. Thanks

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

• White Privilege 1

• Solanas Casey • Stanley Rother • Laudato Si

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• Death Penalty • PBMR Garden

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• Prayer for Refugees • Share the Journey

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• Ministry to Migrants 5

• Mushroom Hunters 6

Stories from around our CPPS world

Enacted in our ASSEMBLY DIRECTIVES 2015

we will remember to...

• Continue to articulate and integrate our Spirituality in our sharing among ourselves and with others.

• Increase our use of social media to promote Precious Blood Spirituality. • Stand with the marginalized, make a collective commitment to promote and witness

nonviolence, and strive to effect reconciliation among God’s people. • Act responsibly in the use and care of our planet’s resources. • Network with other individuals, agencies, and groups to be effective in our current

reality.

WHAT IS WHITE PRIVILEGE?

On Saturday, August 26, some of the 60 participants came to the seminar at Salem Heights wondering: What is White Privilege? Through a dynamic process we left with a deeper understanding and feeling about this terminology. We noted experiences of how we were treated or saw others treated because of the atti-tude stemming from power over others or because of one’s color. Energizing conversations grew out of ques-tions following the viewing segments of the video, “White Like Me” by Tom Wise.

In our small group there was diversity of culture, race, ethnicity and broad life experiences. We appreciated every-one’s openness to listen intently and share deeply. We seemed to concur that in describing another person the word “color” or mentioning the color of another be eliminated from our vocabulary. It was jolting to hear each one’s experience of how people are/were treated just because of color.

As follow-ups, Sister Jeanette coordinated a book discussion on September i4 with Jodi Picoult’s book*, “Small great Things.” Then, on Monday, November 6, there will be a continuation of the sharing about White Privilege at 6:30 pm. Both of these are held at Salem Heights. *a helpful resource for sharing this book can be found at http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-fiction/10796-small-great-things-picoult?start=3 We are grateful to those who are providing these opportunities in the Dayton area: Catholic Social Action of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Weavers of Justice and the Sisters of the Precious Blood.

• Submitted by Marita Beumer, CPPS • Stand with the marginalized, make a collective commitment to promote and

witness nonviolence, and strive to effect reconciliation among God’s people.

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Fr. Solanus Casey - Beatified

The Beatification Mass for Venerable Fr. Solanus Casey will take place Saturday, November 18 at 4:00 p.m. This momentous liturgy will take place at downtown Detroit’s Ford Field which is able to accommodate 60,000 people. Fr. Solanus, a Capuchin friar, spent his life in the service of people. He served for 20 years in Detroit as the porter or doorkeeper of St. Bonaventure Monastery where he met thousands of people from every age and walk of life. He had incredible faith and his holiness is inspiring. His compassion and attribution to miraculous cures have endured him to many in Detroit and across the world.

How wonderful that Sr. Joanne Belloli has volunteered and been accepted to help with the Nov. 18 beatification Mass..

• Submitted by Martha Bertke, Cpps • Network with other individuals, agencies, and groups to be effective in our current reality

Fr. Stanley Rother - Beatified

About 20,000 gathered Sept. 23 2017 for the beatification of Fr. Stanley Francis Rother, a native of nearby Okarche, Oklahoma, who was mar-tyred while serving in Guatemala. Rother served in Santiago Atitlán in Guatemala, from 1968 until his mur-der in his bedroom on July 28, 1981. That bedroom is now a private memo-

rial chapel. The parish church where Fr. Stanley was pastor and where his heart remains with his people in a special me-morial is a powerful presence of the Shepherd among his peo-ple many who have shed blood.

Rother is the first recognized martyr in the United States, and the first U.S.-born priest to be beatified. To view a vid-eo on his life and service go to: http://videos.oeta.tv/video/3000165426/ A memorial of where Fr. Rother was murdered is preserved in the village where he served.

• Catholic News USA • make a collective commitment to promote and witness nonviolence,

A change of heart is required

Pope Francis’ revolutionary encyclical Laudato Si calls for a “broad cultural revolution” to confront the environmen-tal crisis. At heart, Laudato Si, addressed to “every person on the planet” is a call for a new way of looking at things, a “bold cultural revolution” (No. 3, 114). We face an urgent crisis, when, thanks to our actions, the earth has begun to look more and more like, in Francis’ vivid language, “an immense pile of filth” (No. 21). Still, the document is hopeful, reminding us that because God is with us, we can strive both individually and corporately to change course. We can awaken our hearts and move towards an “ecological conversion” in which we see the intimate connection between God and all beings, and more readily listen to the “cry of the earth and the cry of the poor” (No. 49).

“To use religious language, what the pope is calling for is conversion.” ….. James Martin, S.J. • Emergent Future Directive: Act responsibly in the use and care of our planet’s resources.

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Pope Francis: The death penalty is a “mortal sin” and “inadmissible”

Junno Arocho Esteves - Catholic News Service May 11, 2017

Taken from America magazine, May 11, 2017

Faith is a journey guided by the Holy Spirit, who helps the church grow in understanding the sinful nature of once-accepted practices like slavery and the death penalty, Pope Francis said.

While people once even used religious reasons to justify practices such as slavery, the death penalty and "wars of religion," over time the Holy Spirit has deepened the church's understanding of the Gospel, the pope said on May 11 in his homily during morning Mass at Domus Sanctae Marthae.

Slavery "is a mortal sin; today we say this. Back then, some would say that this could be done because these people did not have a soul!" he said. The number of people enslaved today is "even more, but at least we know that it is a mortal sin. The same goes for the death penalty; for a time, it was normal. Today, we say that the death penalty is inadmissible."

For current facts check— https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/

Just wanted to share with you

some of the latest things we have

been doing at the PBMR

Community Garden. We just dug up

the 4 sweet potato plants ...Submitted by

Carolyn Hoying CPPS

PBMR Garden

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That your heart is with the refugee:

In a family of refugees

Their cry, your cry, resounds through the ages:

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR: JOIN THE SHARE THE JOURNEY CAMPAIGN

Pope Francis is calling us and we’re responding. This month the Holy Father launched Share the Journey—a global campaign to increase understanding of our neighbors who have fled their homes seeking shelter and safety. The U.S. Bishops are calling for A Week of Prayer and Action October 7–13. For educa-tional and pastoral resources to respond to some of the most desperate of God’s children connect here:

https://www.sharejourney.org/?utm_source=crs-briefing-email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=crs-briefing-2017-10

Encourage your local Catholic leaders across parishes, schools, and universities to

animate their communities to participate in the week of prayer and action. Find resources at https://

www.sharejourney.org/resource-library/catholic-leaders/

• Submitted Martha Bertke, CPPS • Stand with the marginalized

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Ministry to Migrants Chile has always been a country of migrants but within the past couple of years Our Lady of the Precious Blood Par-ish has received a large number of Haitians, whose color of their skin as well as their language of creole, make them very visible. This year Fr. Nicanor Azua, our pastor, began asked me to accompany the ministry to migrants with a team of three parishioners. With volunteer teachers we began offering classes of basic Spanish one night a week. The first Sunday of September we offered the second “Feast of the Cultures”, to celebrate the cultures of Peru, Bra-zil, Mexico, Paraguay, United States, as well as different cultures from different regions of Chile. There was a pro-gram of dances and songs as well as a tasting of food and drink.

For me this is a way to stand with the marginalized and to strive to effect reconciliation among God’s people since the migrant is not welcomed by everyone.

• Submitted by Edna Hess, CPPS

• Stand with the marginalized, make a collective commit-ment to promote and witness nonviolence, and strive to effect reconciliation among God’s people.

Our Haitian students learning Spanish.

Part of our Ministry to Migrants team and our volunteer teachers.

Two Paraguayan girls presenting a typical dance

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We’re on the Web!

www.preciousbloodsisters

dayton.org

A change of heart is required

Why is climate change a moral issue?

Creation is a gift from God to be reverenced by all men and women

The poor are disproportionately affected by climate change.

Greed is not good. The common good is important for all of us. You can’t care for creation if your heart lacks com-passion for your fellow human beings https://Youtube.com/watch?v=45Mh1AR4k18

Send us your articles (approximately 125 words or less) for our next issue.

Next issue articles for Grassroots are due October 25th so that

we can meet our goal of having it in your hands by 11_01_2017. Please submit to Marty Bertke m.bertke@hometowncable.net

…..or to Mary Lou Schmersal cppsnews@bright.net

Your contributions make all the difference! We’re on the Web!

www.preciousbloodsisters

dayton.org

Sister Marie Kopin works with Cen-

tral Michigan University’s Biology

Department. These photos illus-

trate her venture with the College

of Science and Engineering at the

CMU Neithercut Woodland, and

outdoor lab facility in nearby Clare

County. This is her 14 year of spon-

soring an educational mycology

field experience for CMU faculty,

students, members of the Michigan

Mushroom Hunter’s Club, and interested parties. Of note this year is the find-

ing of 54 different kinds of species with 15 participants bringing them from the

252 acre property. Note here a brochure describing the site and it’s trails and

attractions. https://www.cmich.edu/colleges/cst/Neithercut_Center/Trail/

Documents/Neithercut_Woodland_brochure.pdf

• Submitted by Marie Kopin, CPPS • Act responsibly in the use and care of our planet’s resources.